Megamind: Inspired by Edison and Tesla, Science and DIY

When Megamind director Tom McGrath sat down with Popular Mechanics at San Diego Comic-Con, he confessed to being a fan of the magazine. "I have a library of Popular Mechanics from the '50s," he told us. "My favorite was [a book] called Toys. It was put out in the '50s, but it's like, how to build a Putt-Putt golf [course] in your basement and all these dangerous electric toys that you could never get away with now." Here, McGrath tells us how real-life scientists, technology and DIY know-how informed the direction of Megamind, out Nov. 5.

At first glance, Megamind might seem like your typical superhero movie. Good-looking protagonist Metro Main (Brad Pitt) must regularly defeat the blue, bulbous-headed villain Megamind (Will Ferrell). But there's one key difference: This story is told from the point of view of the villain. And after Metro Man retires, Megamind is forced to become the hero when Metro City is faced with a terrible new villain. "Megamind's skill is brainpower," says director Tom McGrath. "It's brain versus brawn in a way, and it's a lot of do-it-yourself technology on his side. His lair's actually in a power plant."

More From Popular Mechanics

To create the animosity between Megamind and Metro Man, McGrath drew from the real-life rivalry between scientists Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. "Edison was the hero, but he had a dark side," McGrath says. "Tesla was really the guy who made it all happen, but he was vilified by Edison. It's kind of the thing I grabbed onto." And Tesla's influence extends beyond just the story; the scientist, who invented alternating current electrical systems, even informed Megamind's look. "Looking at old pictures of Nikola Tesla there are some parallels and little things we did with production design," McGrath says. "The root power source is that Tesla plasma, which was given to him in a binkie [when he was] a child."

Megamind's DIY technology is thrown together, with the help of his sidekick, Minion (David Cross), from found objects. The villain's gadgets range from the conventional—vehicles—to the wildly sci-fi. "He has a disguise generator watch that can scan someone, take their image and then project that image over himself," McGrath says. He also has a gun that's capable of destroying, dehydrating and decoupaging. "He's able to dehydrate inanimate objects and rehydrate them," the director explains. "Everything in his world has a look of intimidation, to evoke fear."

McGrath wanted Megamind's gadgets to have a hint of realism, so he looked at current technology for inspiration. "I love the details of that stuff," he says. "It has to look like it works. So it isn't really a cartoony world as much as it is applied science and technology. [We actually built] settling canisters [in the computer], even though they're repurposed for another one of Megamind's inventions. The details are as accurate as we can make them."

McGrath, a self-confessed science nerd and DIY guy—"As much as I love to draw and paint, building things has been my best hobby"—believes hands-on people everywhere will find something to relate to in Megamind. "The world, the devices, the thinking that goes into the devices," he says. "Any kind of garage tinkerer could think of himself as a mad scientist, in a way. And Megamind ends up being the good guy, so do-it-yourself wins."